Sailors honoured on Wall of Valour

From left to right: Chief Petty Officer First Class Gilles Gregoire, Formation Chief; CPO1 Robert DeProy, Petty Officer Second Class Andre Aubry, and Rear-Admiral Art McDonald, Commander Maritime Forces Pacific, at the Wall of Valour monument June 26. Photo by Ed Dixon, MARPAC Imaging Services

From left to right: Chief Petty Officer First Class Gilles Gregoire, Formation Chief; CPO1 Robert DeProy, Petty Officer Second Class Andre Aubry, and Rear-Admiral Art McDonald, Commander Maritime Forces Pacific, at the Wall of Valour monument June 26. Photo by Ed Dixon, MARPAC Imaging Services

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

The names of three Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Medal of Bravery recipients were added to Signal Hill’s Wall of Valour monument during a ceremony in Esquimalt, June 26.

The Wall of Valour, located below the Wardroom just before the Dockyard Gates, now displays the names of 36 sailors including the most recent: Chief Petty Officer First Class Robert Deproy, Chief Petty Officer Second Class André Aubry, and Petty Officer Second Class Evan Beaton.

The award was first created by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1972.

Rear Admiral Art McDonald, Commander Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC), presided over the ceremony.

“The efforts of all three individuals embody the true spirit of the award and exemplify the ethos of service to Canada,” said RAdm McDonald, who noted their “selfless acts of heroism” by willingly stepping up “in the face of danger.”

“Your exemplary actions were indisputably products of your own strength of character,” he said to them. “You are role models, gentlemen, and your actions have inspired others in our organization, your country, and most importantly in each other.”

CPO1 Robert DeProy
On May 19, 2012, CPO1 DeProy risked his life attempting to save fellow diver CPO2 Richard Boileau, who eventually died of his injuries caused by a malfunctioning breathing regulator.

CPO1 DeProy emphasized the importance of training in his rescue attempt, but said receiving the honour and spot on the Wall of Valour was tinged with sadness and is “bitter-sweet” because CPO2 Boileau did not survive.

“I’ve been diving an awfully long time, and in the navy we do our drills every single day. At that moment I just had to act,” said CPO1 DeProy. “The outcome wasn’t what I wanted, but you do what you have to do.”

PO2 Evan Beaton
In June 19, 2013, PO2 Beaton, then a Leading Seaman Clearance Diver, skipped decompression protocol to save the life of a fellow diver who had become tangled in his lifeline during a deep-diving operation in the Bedford Basin, Halifax.

Since the rescue PO2 Beaton has become a Dive Train Instructor with Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) and says he mentors new divers about the importance of diving safety.

CPO2 André Aubry
On Feb. 27, 2014, CPO2 Aubry risked his life when a major fire broke out in HMCS Protecteur while the ship was 600 kilometres north of Pearl Harbor.

During the intense fire, he emptied several fire extinguishers to fight back flames so sailors trapped in a room could escape.

Because that act of bravery lasted 15 minutes, CPO2 Aubry is quick to share his award with his fellow shipmates who spent 11 hours putting out the fire, and six days getting the lifeless ship back to Hawaii.

“Everybody did what they had to do, and many went way beyond what they were supposed to do, and that is what really defines us in the military: those who go above and beyond their training to deal with situations that are not normal,” said CPO2 Aubry.

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